Senate BillChaptered/SignedEducation
SB 968: Community colleges: San Mateo County Community College District.
What SB 968 does, verified July 20, 2026
This bill aims to extend the authority of the San Mateo County Community College District to adopt a policy using local unrestricted general funds to provide fee waivers to students with the greatest financial need. The district is currently allowed to use these funds to provide assistance to students for the total cost of attendance, but only for students who reside within the district boundary. The bill would delete the repeal date, allowing the district to keep this policy indefinitely. Additionally, it would repeal an obsolete reporting requirement.
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Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 34, Statutes of 2026. (2026-06-18)Alert me
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| Jun. 29, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 34, Statutes of 2026. |
| Jun. 29, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Jun. 24, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m. |
| Jun. 18, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 63. Noes 0. Page 5762.) Ordered to the Senate. |
| Jun. 18, 2026 | In Senate. Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
Latest bill textChaptered version, June 29, 2026 · 543 words
Senate Bill No. 968
CHAPTER 34
An act to amend Section 76302 of the Education Code, relating to community colleges.
[ Approved by Governor June 29, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State June 29, 2026. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 968, Becker. Community colleges: San Mateo County Community College District.
Existing law, until July 1, 2028, authorizes the San Mateo County Community College District to adopt a policy that uses local unrestricted general funds to provide fee waivers to students with the greatest financial need when other fee waivers are not provided to those students, as specified. Existing law authorizes the San Mateo County Community College District to use local unrestricted general funds, in addition to funding received under the California College Promise, to provide assistance to students for the total cost of attendance, as defined, only for students who reside within the boundary of the community college district.
This bill would delete the repeal date, thereby extending the San Mateo County Community College District’s authority to adopt the above-described policy indefinitely. The bill would also repeal an obsolete reporting requirement.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the San Mateo County Community College District.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 76302 of the Education Code is amended to read:76302.
(a) The governing board of the San Mateo County Community College District may adopt a policy that uses local unrestricted general funds to provide fee waivers to students with the greatest financial need, as determined by the community college district, when other fee waivers are not provided to those students. The policy shall include a requirement to prepare a fiscal impact statement, including a three-year projection of fiscal impact of the fee waiver on the community college district. The fiscal impact statement shall be presented at a public meeting of the governing board of the community college district and made available to the public.(b) In addition to funding received pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 76396, the San Mateo County Community College District may use local unrestricted general funds to provide assistance to students for the total cost of attendance.
(c) The San Mateo County Community College District may use local unrestricted general funds for the purposes described in this section only for students who reside within the boundary of the community college district.
(d) For purposes of this section, the total cost of attendance for a student attending a community college shall be defined to include the student’s tuition and fees, books and supplies, living expenses, transportation expenses, and any other student expenses used to calculate a student’s financial need for purposes of federal Title IV student aid programs.
SEC. 2.
The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique circumstances of the San Mateo County Community College District that necessitate greater flexibility in the use of local resources to support students’ basic needs and removal of financial barriers for students to access higher education in a high cost-of-living region.Text of SB 968 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions